Addendum Saga Shafee Tells Terrirudin To Quit As Apex Court Judge

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Senior lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has called for Federal Court judge Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh to resign.
Shafee (above), who represents Najib Abdul Razak, accused the former attorney-general of misleading the court regarding a royal addendum that allowed the former premier to serve his sentence under house arrest.
Shafee argued that Terrirudin should have been aware of the addendum’s existence and suggested that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) had concealed the document instead of disclosing it.
He emphasised that the attorney-general should have acknowledged the addendum’s existence and debated its legality openly.
“The most honourable course of action would have been for the attorney-general to admit the existence of the addendum and argue its legality,” Shafee said.
“Instead, he chose a disreputable path, descending a slippery slope, and is now in disrepute,” he added.
Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd SallehShafee further described the alleged concealment as a grave act, stating, “This isn’t merely misleading the court; it’s a contemptuous and criminal act.”
In light of this alleged misconduct, Shafee urged Terrirudin to resign immediately, asserting, “He has no business holding another fountain of justice when he failed in the first.”
Silence led to dismissal
Shafee said the AGC’s silence on the addendum had led to the court dismissing Najib’s application to enforce it in April 2024.
“When we were in court, High Court judge Amarjeet Singh, in deciding whether to grant leave (for judicial review), was forced to decide it (the existence of the addendum) is hearsay.
“It was mere suspicion, therefore he can’t accept. He was forced (to rule that way) because there was no response from the attorney-general.
ADS“The attorney-general’s representative appeared. It has to be assumed he is the attorney-general himself as he is the representative,” he added.
Responding to those who want to ensure that his client remains in prison, Shafee said while the house arrest order is unusual, it is not without precedent.
Precedent
He cited the case of his former client, Kenneth Lee Fook Mun, who is the grandson of former finance minister HS Lee’s grandson.
After receiving a royal pardon from the then-Yang di-Pertuan Agong over his murder conviction 24 years ago, Kenneth’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and he served the balance of his imprisonment from his home.
On Jan 13, former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali also called for Terrirudin to be removed as a Federal Court judge.
He said both Terrirudin and his successor, current attorney-general Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, should be axed for not being transparent on the existence of the addendum.
Apandi’s remarks came in the wake of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stating that the addendum was sent directly to the AG.
The appeals court has since granted Najib’s appeal against the High Court’s decision to deny him judicial review leave to compel the government to enforce the addendum.
The former prime minister can now use the decree to argue his case before the High Court. - Mkini

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